Posted by Civilian Seamus McKenzie (Future Citizen) in Laying Cornerstones

Posted by Civilian Ragna Idun McKenzie (Future Citizen) in Laying Cornerstones

Posted by Civilian Seamus McKenzie (Future Citizen) in Laying Cornerstones
Posted by… suppressed (13) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Ragna sat in front of the computer, compiling and sorting all the journaling Runa had sent from the colony ship. It at least was giving Ragna something to do. She couldn’t go out and set up for the meadery yet. It wasn’t built, though the construction crew and the city planners had gotten the permits and started. She wanted to go out, but she also knew she would hover. On top of that she was irritable so that would make her rude and show her temper. That wasn’t a good combination.

The hotel gym wasn’t nearly a release enough. She was bored and feeling rather useless. She was supposed to be helping get power and water established on the land Mike and Revna bought, but Mike was being closed mouthed and having her wait. She sat in the penthouse being useless. She rubbed her temples as they began to pound. She stood up from the desk and paced like a caged tiger in front of the too large windows that only looked out at buildings and hover cars and sliders. In a fit of temper she picked up a pillow and threw it across the room. She would have rather thrown the lamp, but that wasn’t easy to clean up. She started cussing in Norwegian, cursing Revna and Runa, Mike and her parents, and Oddvar and anyone else she could think of. She insulted and cursed the colony and lack of anything familiar. She let her temper lose in the confines of her gigantic private non-home. Tossing pillows and anything that wasn’t likely to break.

She threw a tantrum until she could have sworn she heard thunder rumble hard enough to shake the building that sent stabs of pain through her skull. She stumbled into the bedroom looking for wherever they had left the tincture for her migraines. She managed to turn off all the lights and blackout the windows before collapsing on the bed and a haze of pain.

Ragna McKenzie

It was however long later when the curtains were yanked open and Seamus stood over her. “Uh-uh. Nae, lass… we are nae doing tha’ anymore. Ya got nary a reason for a migraine. None. No weather. No pressure systems. No allergens. If’n ya feel like ya wanna hide yer hed and be pissy, go right on. I, on tha other hand, am going ta check out the Farmer’s Market and see how the foundation for the Meadery came out. Ya can join me or ya can cower like a English lass whose afraid a’ gettin’ her hair wet in the rain.” and he stomped out of the room, down the stairs, and began picking up after Hurricane Ragna. “At least she only threw tha’ soft stuff this time…” he mumbled to himself.

Seamus McKenzie

Ragna almost threw a pillow at him. It would have landed accurately too, right between his shoulder blades. She had sworn to Frigga and Idun she would not take her temper out on Seamus. No matter how irritated, mad, crabby, passed, or angry she got, even if it was at him, she would not let it lose on him.

Did he say a farmer’s market and the meadery? This place had a farmer’s market? Ragna glared at the too bright windows and got up. She righted her self, straightened her hair, and slipped into her shoes. She picked up the shawl she had worked so meticulously to make of the new Clan tartan material Seamus had given her. She fingered the charm of Idun she wore around her neck. She has to do better for him. Even if he wasn’t here to to see it, he knew. She said she would try, and all she had been doing was trying to hide how unhappy she was. She was failing miserably.

She wrapped the shawl around her shoulders and pulled her long white-blonde hair loose as she made her way down the stairs. She didn’t say a word as she started picking up the mess she made. She didn’t know how to say what should be said. Or may even she did and her pride was just in the way.

Ragna

The pillow hit her square on top of the head as she bent down to pick up, and it was followed by a deep chuckle. “Ah, I see fair maid has been gifted with a relief a’ what ailed her. Praise the gods and sing the song of celebration!” he said and began singing under his breath some old Scottish song about a man in a kilt who got too drunk to walk and fell asleep in the bushes by the side of the road. The song continued with two women discovering him… and so on a so forth.

Seamus

Ragna gritted her teeth and counted to 10 in 3 languages. It was his singing that really did more to douse her temper. She still threw a pillow square at his backside. Soon she was smirking. The song was outrageous and bawdy. “I’d gave ya more than a blue ribbon.”

Ragna

“That ya would, and that ya have love of mine.” he said with a glance and a smile in her direction. “Now then… since we seem to have corrected the spontaneous eruption of cushions and pillows that seems to have spontaneously materialized in our living room-” and he grinned at her, “- maybe now we can step outside and see what the fair city has ta offer us, eh? And yes… there really is a Farmer’s Market. Form what I hear, its a big ‘un, too. You ready?”

Seamus

Ragna stood up straight from replacing the last cushion and walked toward him. “Yes Seamus, I’m ready.” She had even grabbed a bag to carry anything they might buy. “Let’s go explore our new home.”

Ragna

Seamus led them downstairs and out of the building. “It’s nae far, let’s walk a bit.” and he offered her his arm.

Ragna slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow. It was familiar and comforting, and one of the few things Ragna didn’t insist on asserting her wild independence. She would never ever admit it out loud, but she liked being on Seamus’ arm.

They walked along the sidewalk. This part of the city was mostly residential high-rises and small shops and restaurants. As they walked, Seamus pointed out a few places and suggested some places they might want to try shopping or eating at. Soon they reached a block with many more pedestrians than elsewhere… the Sloan Square Farmer’s Market.

Ragna made the effort to remember the places that Seamus pointed out. She needed to make the effort to get out on her own. She just hated large crowds and dealing with people. It didn’t cause her anxiety or anything like that, but she was easily annoyed. That never ended well. She’d never been been to a city that was this packed. She’d been to Tokyo and Bejing and San Francisco, but none were this packed with people in such a specific amount of space. Yes the populations were large, even now, and lots of buildings and traffic, but as the world had healed people had spread out and started being more responsible. Oed was…well she knew it was because of the dome, that nothing could grow or live outside it until recently, but it was still overwhelming.

If it was a thousand years earlier- and they were on Earth- it would be the same kind of market and bazaar those societies had. Vendors hawked fresh produce, meats, textile goods, and other handcrafted items. People of a myriad of species and planetary origins bustled and bartered, haggled and harangued, bought and brokered everything from tea cozies to live chickens. Seamus looked down at Ragna and said “See? It’s like The Barras in Glasgow. Except much more diverse.” and he laughed. He knew how much she had enjoyed her forays into the market back home, even if she hated the number of people.

Seamus

Standing next to him, Seamus could feel the tension drain almost instantly out of her. Ragna knew how to fit in here. She knew how to haggle and barter. Though she had nothing to barter with yet. This was familiar. From the sights, the sounds, the smells it was familiar even though it was much more diverse. “Where does it all come from? I thought nothing could be grown on Oed? Not enough for all this,” she waved her hand to encompass the whole market.

Ragna

“They have nurseries, hot houses, greenhouses, and a lot of domed cultivation areas. A population this size could nae import everything, now could it?” Seamus replied with a grin. “And now, since the dome came down, everyone is expanding the green spaces and making an effort to start up farms and such. The soil is actually really fertile, surprisingly, as long as you can account for the base biomes and microbial life. Folks ‘ave been working on that for a while. And it’s getting decent results. I’m actually working some of what they’ve done inta the terraforming areas. We’ll have trees in the next two or three years, I think.”

Seamus

No, Ragna knew they couldn’t import it all. She supposed she hadn’t put much thought into it. She had read as much as she could get her hands on before they left, and apparently she wasn’t using the brains the gods graced her with. There had been two domes. One for the city and the second for farming to provide those necessities for the colony. She had seen a few parks dotting the city from their window, but that hadn’t screamed home and sustainability to her. She grin as Seamus talked and they walked through the first stalls. “You are really enjoying it aren’t you? Bringing life back to this planet.”

Ragna

He smiled. “I am. It’s amazing ta see it begin, Ra. And to know that our families, the Clan, are a part of bringing that life back is somethin’ I’ll never not be proud of.” They came to a stall and Seamus stopped. “Here. This is one’a the local beekeepers.” He waited until the few customers in front of them had left and he smiled and waved at the Tellarite. “Geg! This is my wife, Ragna. I told ya about her last week.” Geg offered up a porcine smile and said “Seamus! Good to see you!” His black eyes fell on Ragna and he said “He tells me you make a drink out of honey. Well, I have the finest bees and pollinators on Oed V. Seamus here is even using my babies in his terraforming. I also have the only colonies of native bees here.”

Seamus

“It will be something for our tomes, certainly. You should be proud of it. The act of creation is always a marvel.” She gave him a curious look. “I thought you said there were no insects on Oed yet?” This was exciting for her. Local flowers and honey were something she wanted to try and work with. “A pleasure to meet you Geg. I do. It’s my family’s stock in trade. I am hoping to create a new brew or five out of native honey. I would love to sample what you have.” As far as Ragna was concerned, Seamus had brought Yule several months early.

Ragna

“No insects in the wild.” Seamus clarified. Geg turned and took a small cup and set it below a small spigot. Opening it, a surprisingly red and viscous liquid slowly ran into the cup. The closed the spigot and turned to Ragna. “Here. Native Oed V honey. Careful, it has a kick.”

Ragna took the cup and sniffed it several times and held it up to the light exami ing the color and consistency. Then she tasted it… letting go the flavors flow across her tongue.

The taste was nothing like she had ever had before. As sugary sweet as Earth honey was, this was herbal and floral with only hints of sweet. It had an almost menthol-like finish… and then it was spicy hot. But just for a moment. Enough to make most people eye’s water and illicit a cough or two before it dissapated leaving the trace herbal headdress from before.

Seamus

Her eyes went wide and she grinned. “Reminds me Paannaaq but sharper. What plants did the pollen come from? Are they also native to Oed?”

Ragna

Geg smiled. “They are. The pollen is from Oedian Night Ivy. It only flowers at night, and is a brilliant red color. Oedian bees are nocturnal as well, but only the particular species that pollinates the ivy. All others are crepuscular. Interesting note, though: Night Ivy is extremely toxic. But the process of making the honey removes the toxin. Makes the sting of the bee very painful, though.”

Seamus / Geg

“Interesting.” So not something they could mechanically harvest. All natural process. What Edman Meadery was known for. Ragna liked it. “This would make an excellent Methegen. How long would it take to sustainably harvest…say roughly 2 and a quarter kilograms?”

Ragna